The rapper has made clear his admiration for the presidential candidate before, but the recent hour-long conversation between Killer Mike and Bernie Sanders is more than a token of mutual respect—the discussion stands on its own right as a compelling dialogue on the state of American politics, what it means to be a radical, and the architecture of racial inequality.

The love story of June Carter Cash and her husband Johnny inspired another young family, keeping them close and providing the soundtrack to their lives in dark times. Decades later, Jennifer Nix looks back on the kidney disease and estrangement that wracked her family, wondering how to come back to the music. ...more

In the fall of 2008 I was chatting with a woman I know about the upcoming presidential election. She was in her 60s, single, a funky dresser, world traveler, and amateur artist—what my mom would have called a “free-spirited Auntie Mame type”— so I was surprised by what she had to say: She was voting Republican.

Hey! You! I love doing these political links, but no one clicks on them. So I want to hear from you: What kind of political links do you want to see? What are you interested in? I will scour the Internets for you if you tell me.

Jeffrey Wigand, in case you don’t remember, is the Brown & Williamson chemist who accused his company of intentionally manipulating the tobacco blend to increase the amount of nicotine in cigarette smoke, thereby increasing the so-called ‘impact’ to the smoker, and was portrayed by Russell Crowe in the movie “The Insider.” He’s one of the biggest corporate whistleblowers in recent history, and he helped bring about some pretty major change in the tobacco industry.

Hello

Welcome to TheRumpus.net. We don’t say that lightly—we’re thrilled you’re here. At The Rumpus, we’ve got essays, reviews, interviews, music, film, short fiction, and poetry—along with some kick-ass comics. We know how easy it is to find pop culture on the Internet, so we’re here to give you something more challenging, to show you how beautiful things are when you step off the beaten path. The Rumpus is a place where people come to be themselves through their writing, to tell their stories or speak their minds in the most artful and authentic way they know how, and to invite each of you, as readers, commenters or future contributors, to do the same. What we have in common is a passion for fantastic writing that’s brave, passionate, and true (and sometimes very, very funny). (more)